Alex Doolan is poised to take on the responsibility of battling at No. 3 in the Test line-up. Picture: GETTYSource: Getty Images

AFTER more failed experiments than you’d see on a television cooking show, Australia has accepted Ricky Ponting is a hard act to follow.

The number of batsmen to follow Ponting into the once hallowed No 3 Test batting spot is likely to reach 10 in just over two years when Australia plays South Africa in the first Test at Centurion tomorrow.

Several made one-off appearances due to special circumstances but the overriding pattern is clear — Australia is looking for something it cannot seem to find.

If, as expected, Tasmania’s Alex Doolan gets the nod you couldn’t blame him for feeling very much on trial, for no batsman since Ponting has been able to bring the stability Australia is craving in this key spot.

Australia has revered the role of the No 3 ever since Don Bradman scorched Test grounds around the world with 5078 Test runs at 103 at first drop. Bradman’s legacy was to redefine the position as the place where the best batsman in the team should play although this theory has faded even though it is still seen as a match-shaper.

Ian Chappell averaged 50 at three and the debonair Neil Harvey shaped the course of many Tests with his 12 tons first wicket down.

But Ponting has stood tallest since Bradman, becoming a modern icon and his 9904 runs at 56 at first wicket down are bettered only by Rahul Dravid and Kumar Sangakkara in Test history.

Doolan is an interesting selection because his first class statistics, including an average of just under 38, are not exceptional but he has several key supporters including captain Michael Clarke who has likened his fluency to Mark Waugh.

No-one doubts his style or strokemaking capacity but he does have a reputation as a player who can make the prettiest 30s and 40s and then get out.

The son of Bruce, who kept wickets in Tasmania’s first Sheffield Shield match, Doolan has had a slow build-up to Test cricket.

He has been heavily influenced by Ponting’s return to the Tasmanian dressing room for the 2012-13 season after his retirement, watching the master’s every move from what he ate to how he prepared for a match